Danube River Cruise Vacation Part 6: Budapest and Getting Home

This post is the sixth, and last, in a series about the Danube River Cruise vacation we recently went on with Wayne’s two sisters and their husbands. Click here for the link to Part 1: Planning and Getting to Munich. Click here for the link to Part 2: Our Day in Munich. Click here for the link to Part 3: Harburg Castle, Rothenburg, Getting to Passau. Click here for the link to Part 4: Passau, Linz and Krems. Click here for the link to Part 5: Vienna and Bratislava.

We got back from this trip near the end of June, and it is already hard to remember the details. On day six of the cruise, the ship left Bratislava, sailing all afternoon and evening. The following photo was taken with Marlene’s phone at the beginning of the cruise, but we can pretend it was on the way to Budapest. There were a few times when the top deck was a little crowded, but many times hardly anyone was there.

The ship sailed into Budapest at 10:00 pm in order to view all the bridges and buildings lit up spectacularly, while the cruise director provided commentary on the sights. The free bus and walking tour was the next morning, with time on our own in the afternoon. After a full day in Budapest and a second night on the ship there, it was time to disembark and head to the airport for home.

The next two photos were taken as we sailed into Budapest. Wayne took the first one.

Budapest is made up of two cities, one on each side of the Danube River. The Buda side is hilly, the Pest side is flat and more urban. There are a series of bridges spanning the river, each with its own unique architecture and story. There was a settlement here as early as the fourth century BC. The Romans were here around AD 100. The Kingdom of Hungary was established in the 11th Century.

The following photo is the view looking toward shore from our ship.

We had prepared for rain on this trip, but we lucked out and most of the time it was dry. It was raining when we went on the bus tour of Budapest. I have included a few photos taken through the bus window in the rain. Apologies for reflections and streaks of water.

The bus tour took us around on the Pest side of the city, and then across the river to the Buda side. We must have driven by Buda Castle, but I don’t have any photos. The bus dropped us off at Trinity Square, the central plaza of the “Castle Hill” district at the top of the hill, near the castle.

A must see in the Castle Hill area is Mathias Church. By this time at the end of the cruise and after seeing so many cathedrals and churches, most of the passengers were not psyched to go into another one. Trust me, this one is unique. There was a structure built here in the year 1015. The current structure was built in the 2nd half of the 14th century, and there were extensive restorations in the late 19th century. It has changed hands many times and been used for different religions and purposes. During WWII the crypt was used by the Germans as a camp kitchen, and then the Soviets used the sanctuary as a stable for their horses.

The inside of Mathias Church is different than any other church we saw.

Behind Mathias Church overlooking the river is a plaza and Fisherman’s Bastion. In the middle ages there was a castle wall here. It is said that the Fisherman’s Guild at the time provided protection for the area. Today there is a structure with seven turrets overlooking the river.

There is an excellent view across the river to the Pest side and the Parliament building from Fisherman’s Bastion.

After allowing for time at Mathias Church and Fisherman’s Bastion, the bus took us back to the ship for lunch. We walked around on our own in the afternoon. A few blocks from our ship was Central Market, a big building with two levels of vendor stalls. It looked like a repurposed old train station, but it was built for the purpose in 1897.

It was very crowded with food stalls and everything Hungarian for sale. It reminded me a little of a fancier version of the Swap Meet in Mesa, Arizona.

We saw rubber duckies for sale all over. I should have bought one for our granddaughter.

A local sweet treat in Budapest are called Chimney Cakes. There were many shops selling them in different varieties, plain and with fillings and toppings. We bought one to share at the Central Market. It was a little softer and doughier than I was expecting.

After checking out Central Market, we walked along the river on the Danube Promenade towards the Parliament building. It was a longer walk then we were led to believe, but at least the rain had cleared up by then.

Near the Parliament building is the Shoes on the Danube Bank memorial. Sixty pairs of bronzed 1940’s men’s, women’s and children’s shoes are scattered along the edge of the river to commemorate a horrific event near the end of WWII, when Hungarian Jews were made to remove their shoes, and were then shot into the river. It is difficult to see but necessary that we do not forget.

After paying our respects at the shoe memorial, we walked over to the Parliament building where there is a plaza and gardens.

I would have liked to experience the famous thermal baths of Budapest, but with only one day there there was not enough time to see everything. That is the reality with cruises.

Back at the boat I took a photo showing three Viking long ships double parked side by side. Our ship, the Embla, was the closest to the shore. People in the other two ships had to walk through the lobby of the Embla to get to their ship.

The next picture was taken by one of the waiters in the dining room on Marlene’s phone near the beginning of the cruise, but it works for a last dinner of the cruise photo also.

On the last night we spent the evening packing up our luggage. Since we were going directly home, Viking Cruise line provided transportation to the airport. Based on our flight time, we were to put our luggage outside of our state room for staff to pick up first thing in the morning. We got everything ready to go and in the hallway before we went to bed, using our backpacks for toothbrushes and other last minute items.

A couple of different times we were told by Viking staff that there would be a Viking representative at the airport to guide is through the airline check in process. Instead of spending time checking in and printing boarding passes, they encouraged us to enjoy our last evening. I had looked at the Delta app on my phone where I could have checked us in, but based on their advice I did not do it. We did not need a paper boarding pass ahead of time, but we thought the part about not checking in to our flight was odd. Later we regretted not doing so.

We had breakfast on the boat before leaving for the airport. Wayne’s sister and brother-in-law, Marlene and Steve, were on the same itinerary as us flying from Budapest to Minneapolis, with a connection in Amsterdam. Wayne’s other sister and brother-in-law had a ride to the airport at 3:00 am for their flight to the Bay Area of California. Ugg.

When we got to the airport it looked like chaos. As always seems to be the case, the biggest stress was trying to figure out which line to get in, and where was the end of said line. We had three hours before flight time so were not worried at this point. We stood there for a couple of moments when we happened to see a young man in a Viking shirt walk by. We flagged him down to ask about checking in, and he pointed to the place where we should get in line. Sadly, that was the extent of the Viking guidance during check in. If anyone else has had a different experience with cruise line transfer to the airport, I would be interested in hearing about it.

We got in the line and were not too far back. There were no staff at the Delta/KLM counter. It was about 40 minutes before the line started moving, during which time the line got a lot longer behind us. My phone was still on airplane mode, but Wayne got an email from Delta saying that the second leg of our flight was cancelled. It said we were rebooked, but the alternate flight looked like the same as the original. It was very confusing, so we figured it would get sorted out when we got up to the counter.

When it was finally our turn at the check in counter, the staff seemed to be very confused too. We were there for a long time until they finally got the cancelled flight rebooked from Amsterdam to Minneapolis via Salt Lake City, getting us home around midnight, about five hours later than the original itinerary. We checked our bags and headed for the security line. Marlene and Steve were the next to be served, so we told them we would meet them at the gate.

Apparently there were no more seats on flights to Amsterdam anytime in the near future. Marlene and Steve had to stay overnight in Budapest in order to get on a flight to Paris the next day. The next day they flew from Paris to Boston, but missed their connection to Minneapolis. They had to stay overnight in Boston, arriving home two days late. Delta paid for their hotels and meals due to the delays. After hearing about this, we did not complain about getting home five hours late.

Delta gave all four of us 10,000 sky miles points for our troubles. Later Wayne and I received $640 each for the cancelled flight. I don’t know how they came up with that amount. We had paid Viking an amount for our airfare that was not related to any specific flights.

Marlene and Steve were told that they did not qualify for the reimbursement because they did not check in for the flight at least two hours ahead of time (based on the instructions from Viking). We did not check in either. All we can figure is that when we got up to the counter at the airport it was more than two hours before check in, and by the time it was their turn, it was less than two hours. They complained about this to both Viking and Delta, and eventually got their reimbursement too. We are all wondering if the situation would have played out differently if we had checked in to our flights the night before.

After we got home, we had about three weeks until the next big trip. During that time there were a couple of reservations at the family cabin that we were involved in, a trip to St. Paul for our granddaughter’s first birthday party, and our annual family reunion at the cabin. The reunion was less stressful this year, being smaller and involving less work for me than the 100 year anniversary celebration of the cabin last year.

Back at home I finished the bandana / cowl that I started knitting at the airport in Minneapolis at the beginning of the trip.

It is very soft and I like it a lot. It does not match my winter jacket, which happens to be 17 years old. I remember that because I bought it the year we had a foreign exchange student from Norway. I think my boots are that old too. Where does the time go.

We left in the middle of the family reunion for our second big trip of the summer. Watch for upcoming posts about that, and how it happened so soon after the other vacation.